The transition to a circular economy is one of the greatest environmental, social and economic challenges of our towns and regions’ future.

LIFE, the EU’s funding instrument for the environment and climate action, has published a long brochure on the circular economy. It includes interviews with experts and MEPs and hundreds of projects that can inspire local governments throughout Europe.

At local level, one person can make a big difference. FEDARENE is launching the third edition of the Roger Léron Award, which aims to reward an individual for their contribution towards sustainable energy transition at local or regional level in Europe.

Do you know someone who deserves the award? Suggest a nomination before 1 June.

The aim of the European Commission’s Mayors for Economic Growth (M4EG) initiative is to strengthen local governments’ capacity to implement smart local economic development. Cities joining the initiative make and implement sustainable economic development plans with EU support. The “champions” will receive grant support to implement pilot projects.

Our global association, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), is hosting its second Culture Summit from 10 to 13 May 2017 in Jeju, Korea. The Jeju Culture Summit, “Commitments and Actions for Culture in Sustainable Cities”, is the place to be for towns, regions and all other stakeholders committed to culture at the local level.

The summit will focus on three key themes: Implementing culture 21 actions, A global culture 2030 goal, and Cultural rights and local alliances for culture. It will be an opportunity to discuss all aspects of cultural policies, programmes and projects in cities.

From Murcia to Rhodope, thanks to CITYnvest, public buildings are being made more energy efficient, contributing to the creation of hundreds of new local jobs in the process. Read all about it in CITYnvest's April newsletter.

The organisers of the Climate Chance World Summit are currently looking for contributions from non-state actors in the form of presentations, papers or public policy actions in order to put together the workshop programme.

How can you find innovative financing for energy efficiency? CITYnvest, of course. But there’s more: the Commission has produced 3 webinars (online seminars) on the issue, which you can watch for free.

Do you believe in the value of cities from different horizons teaching and learning from each other? If yes, apply for the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) programme on sustainable urban development with Chinese cities. Applications are open until 10 April.